Easy Does It: Sabering Champagne

A bit of misfortune struck at the beach last week. A cork broke off in a bottle of bubble. I couldn’t possibly disappoint Mrs. E. and took the opportunity to have her film me (and my beach belly…. posture Chris!) sabering open the bottle. At home I use a Kenyan war dagger brought back from Africa by my friend Tom. It is heavy, blunted and makes it very easy to take the top off of the bottle. As the dagger had been left at home, I used a (very lightweight) chef’s knife that was at the house.

Please forgive the noise (my son was running roughshod at the time) and my nasally voice. I’m still getting over a head cold. The posture and beach belly? Well, it was back to running and the typical diet as of yesterday.

Enjoy and do try this at home, it makes a good party trick. Just watch your aim.

I’ve never seen or heard anything about this “technique”. I thought it was a creative method that you invented (necessity is the mother of invention)! However, my husband, who has an interest in both wine and the Napoleonic era, informed me that one of the criteria Napoleon used for hiring his staff was their ability to saber a bottle of champagne.

The demonstration, the history, fascinating. Another skill to master. So impressed am I, I returned the favor and tweeted this link to my modest group of followers. So expect to see hordes of knife-wielding warriors out there with impeccable manners
and sartorial style.

Incidentally, couldn’t find you on twitter. Are you under something other than easy and elegant?